Why American International Group, NXP Semiconductors, and Cardinal Health Slumped Today

Thursday was a topsy-turvy day on Wall Street, with major benchmarks rallying back from sharp losses early in the session to finish with only minimal moves. The extent of the initial plunge raised new fears that some investors who tend to track past price movements of stock indexes would conclude that the nine-year-old bull market has run its course, making the recovery later in the day somewhat important from that perspective.

Amid the volatility, several individual companies had bad news that sent their shares lower. American International Group (NYSE: AIG), NXP Semiconductors (NASDAQ: NXPI), and Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH)were among the worst performers on the day. Here's why they did so poorly.